: Nightmare commute :
Yesterday was probably the worst day I had in the city so far. Monday night there was a big storm while we were in a movie theater watching Superman Returns (which was great, by the way). It knocked down trees over the railway lines for the train I use to get to Penn Station, although I didn't know it at the time. The next morning I went to the station as usual and was surprised to see all the TV news trucks in the parking lot, and I knew something was up. Listening to the other passengers talk, I found out about the mishap and was forced to board the next train to Hoboken so I could switch trains at Newark to get to New York.
So my morning commute was about 30 minutes longer and a lot more stressful than it usually is. Then, once I got to Penn Station, I found out that there's been some trouble with the power in New York (perhaps due to power conservation due to the heat wave) and some of the subway trains are not running. My line was still operating, but since concurrent lines aren't and I was late getting in, the platform is terribly crowded. So we packed ourselves in like sardines, but it wasn't as bad as the afternoon trip. When I left the office at 5 p.m. and got on the train, everyone was sweating profusely from the heat of the day. It wasn't very pleasant being squished in with a lot of sweaty guys in a train car so tightly that I didn't have to hold the rail since there was no room to fall down. I mean, we were so close together that my boobs were grazing people left and right.
I had planned to try and get home early in order to visit the DMV to get my new driver license. Since the subway was running slowly, I made it to Penn Station with only a few minutes to spare for my commuter train. I ran through the terminal and glanced quickly at the information screen and headed down to the platform. I got on the train and felt relieved, until I heard people around me saying that the information screen had earlier flashed up the wrong track number. I asked a man sitting next to me which train this was, and it was the wrong train. I got up just in time to see my train pulling away on the adjacent track, and had no choice but to go back upstairs and wait for 30 minutes for the next train. Needless to say, I missed going to the DMV because it had already closed by the time I got home.
So today, both the commute and the weather are much better. It's only 79 degrees at lunchtime in Midtown, and the trains were running normally again. Days like yesterday make normal days feel like I've died and gone to heaven. Hopefully I won't have another day like that for a long time, but I know it's all a part of living up here.
So my morning commute was about 30 minutes longer and a lot more stressful than it usually is. Then, once I got to Penn Station, I found out that there's been some trouble with the power in New York (perhaps due to power conservation due to the heat wave) and some of the subway trains are not running. My line was still operating, but since concurrent lines aren't and I was late getting in, the platform is terribly crowded. So we packed ourselves in like sardines, but it wasn't as bad as the afternoon trip. When I left the office at 5 p.m. and got on the train, everyone was sweating profusely from the heat of the day. It wasn't very pleasant being squished in with a lot of sweaty guys in a train car so tightly that I didn't have to hold the rail since there was no room to fall down. I mean, we were so close together that my boobs were grazing people left and right.
I had planned to try and get home early in order to visit the DMV to get my new driver license. Since the subway was running slowly, I made it to Penn Station with only a few minutes to spare for my commuter train. I ran through the terminal and glanced quickly at the information screen and headed down to the platform. I got on the train and felt relieved, until I heard people around me saying that the information screen had earlier flashed up the wrong track number. I asked a man sitting next to me which train this was, and it was the wrong train. I got up just in time to see my train pulling away on the adjacent track, and had no choice but to go back upstairs and wait for 30 minutes for the next train. Needless to say, I missed going to the DMV because it had already closed by the time I got home.
So today, both the commute and the weather are much better. It's only 79 degrees at lunchtime in Midtown, and the trains were running normally again. Days like yesterday make normal days feel like I've died and gone to heaven. Hopefully I won't have another day like that for a long time, but I know it's all a part of living up here.
